Stray Cat
by CatsCookiesCandy
Summary: Cat has been homeless for quite a long time now. One day, she meets a strange man, who asks for information in exchange for money. From that day on, she continues to see him. Cat is determined to find out who he is. Series of one-shots.
1. Chapter 1 - A Silhouette

1\. A Silhouette

Summer had officially ended and autumn was starting to show. It wasn't raining hard, but it did get into your clothes and with a mild breeze, it certainly was cold.  
I shifted my thick blanket so it covered me from most of the rain and tried to pull my legs even closer up to my torso, because the puddle of water in front of me was growing and almost reaching me. While doing this, I accidentally bumped my left arm rather hard into Maud, the older woman who was sitting next to me. Opening my mouth to apologize, I noticed her eyes weren't focused on me, but on something in the distance. Or rather, someone.

A dark silhouette was moving towards us. At first, I thought it was a woman in a dress, but then I saw it was a man in a long coat. His collar was up to protect his neck from the rain, and his forehead was almost entirely covered by a thick layer of soaking wet, dark curls. He moved with big strides and dodged the puddles of water without even looking at the ground. I felt that Maud was sitting straighter as he approached.

When he reached us, nobody said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the rain falling on the street or in the puddles. Drops of water that fell on the iron dumpster across the street made extra loud noises. Maud didn't even remove her greyish scarf that covered the lower part of her face, she simply stared at the man before us. And he stared back.

After what had felt like an eternity, the man started speaking.  
"I need you and the others to find this person for me," he said, and he reached into his pocket. He had a deep voice and the way he spoke left no room for questions. When he had grabbed the thing from his pocket, he showed it to Maud. It seemed to be a mobile phone – and quite an expensive one, too. I couldn't see what he was showing Maud, though. The angle was not right and the rain clang to my eyelashes.

"It can be difficult, he's good at hiding. He changes his location approximately every two to three days. So when you find him, come tell me immediately. Do not let him notice you."  
I had no idea who this man was, but apparently Maud knew him as she listened to him and seemed to understand what, or rather who, he was talking about. I thought Maud only knew other homeless people, like me. But supposedly, I was wrong, because this man clearly wasn't homeless. That coat and that mobile phone must have been incredibly expensive. Also, the man had an aura around him that just screamed posh.

Maud glanced at the phone one more time, and then nodded. As the man moved it away, I finally caught a glimpse of the display. A photo of a pale man with greyish hair and a few wrinkles. A large scar ran across his face. Why would this man be looking for him?  
The man before me put his phone in his pocket, where his hand then stayed. God, that coat must be warm and cosy, I thought. As tempting as it was, though, I didn't ask the man if I could try it on for a moment. I couldn't remember the last time I had had an opportunity to wash myself. And this man doesn't look like he is willing to give his coat freely to dirty, soaking wet homeless people either. I moved my blanket up to my chin. At least I had this to keep me a bit protected from the rain and cold. Even though it had a few holes in it.

The man was still looking at Maud and said curtly: "You know where to find me." And then took off. I watched him walk away, again with those big strides. But before he rounded the corner, he did one thing that surprised me. He stopped walking, turned around and then looked at me. And by that I mean that he really looked at me, not just glanced. It felt like he analyzed every single part of me. At last, he looked me straight in the eyes. His face was like a stone mask, it didn't display any emotion. Then he turned around, swished his coat dramatically and rounded the corner. Gone.

All at once, dozens of questions flooded my mind. But I found that I could not speak. I merely stared at the place where this mysterious man had just stood. Maud was quiet as well, or maybe she had walked away as well. I didn't know. Everything came down to this one question: Who was this man?

And there, that evening, under a small canopy in a wet alley that was only illuminated by a single streetlight, I met that strange man for the first time, but certainly not the last.

 **As you might have noticed, English is not my native language. Also, I don't write often, so criticism is very welcome! However, don't be too harsh, please. I am very insecure about all this so only give the criticism to** **help me improve.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Hiding place

**I know it's been way too long since I updated this, and I'm so sorry. I get anxious with these things and didn't dare to do it, even though I already had a total of 4 chapters done. So, I'll publish the chapters and we'll see what happens next :)**

I struggled against the wind, trying to wrap my blanket around my upper body. When I wasn't sitting or laying on the ground, it functioned as coat. _A blankoat_. I sniggered to myself, then frowned _. God, that was a bad pun. I need to sleep._

The wind grew even harder and I quickened my pace, searching for a place to crash. I had heard that it was going to storm today, and I really did not want to be in the middle of it. Judging by the dark clouds that were gathering above me, I had to be quick.  
As I passed some skate park, I saw that even the kids who normally spent all their time there trying to break their bones were absent. In fact, almost every street I'd crossed in the past thirty minutes had been almost deserted. Must be quite the storm if it even stopped the Londoners from crawling through the streets like bees in a nest as they usually do.

A filthy paper bag from some fast-food restaurant was blown against my leg by the wind. I kicked it away mid-step but then stopped walking. About thirty meters away from me was a building that looked as if it hadn't been visited in years. The windows were either broken or missing altogether, but it had walls and a roof. Exactly what I needed. If I couldn't find shelter from the rain, I'd probably freeze –or be blown away by this ever-growing wind. Dark clouds were gathering above me quickly, so I decided to take no chances and run for it. For what was definitely not the first time in my life, my athletically-built body came in handy. My long legs took even longer strides and just in time I reached the building.

I climbed through a window frame and let myself fall inside. Precisely that moment, it started to rain. Heavily. I grinned and sat up. _Well done Cat,_ I complimented myself, and I patted my own shoulder. I stood and changed my blankoat into a big scarf, by wrapping it around my neck. _Hm, I better look around before I am going to sleep. Make sure I am alone._

I stepped out of the room, into a hallway. A stairs made of rotten wood stood against the wall across me. Everything was covered in dust and there were loads of mice turds. Something on my right caught my eye. A flimsy mattress. Apparently I wasn't the first homeless to set foot in this shack. I wondered why this particular person had been alone. Surely you would tell others if you'd found a place this nice.  
I wandered farther into the hallway and turned into another room. This room wasn't as empty as the first room had been. Large bookcases were standing criss-cross in the room. I walked towards one and scanned the titles. Before I could read one, however, I was startled by a noise from above me. Was someone on the first floor? The noise shifted towards the hallway, and I realised they were footsteps. Someone was about to walk downstairs.

I got a bad feeling in my gut. My instinct told me to hide. And let me tell you that the first thing I'd learned when I became homeless, was to trust my instinct.  
I quickly hid behind a rather full bookcase, so that the person could not immediately see me if they stepped foot into this room. The stairs creaked loudly as the mysterious person descended. _Must be a man,_ I thought as the footsteps sounded very heavy. _Or an incredibly fat and boorish woman._ I held my breath, hoping the person would walk into another room. But -of course- they didn't. The person now stood in the doorway of this room.

Not being able to hold my breath any longer, I slowly exhaled. Despite my bad feeling about this situation, my curiosity seemed to burn me from inside and I just had to know who I was dealing with.

I didn't want to be seen, though.

 _Just a small glimpse_ , I told myself. _Come on, you really need to know who you're dealing with. Could be just one of the others, Maud for example. Or little Tommy._

I slowly moved my face to a small slit between two books. What I saw, stopped my heart for a moment. It was the man who we were looking for. The man from the display of the phone, the one that was shown to us by the man with the nice coat.  
 _The man in the nice coat. I need to warn him._

 **I realise it's all quite short. Is that annoying?**


	3. Chapter 3 - Excuse me?

**This story is rated T because of language, just to warn you.**

"Cat, what the fuck?!"  
For being the oldest woman in the group of homeless people I knew, Maud certainly used very foul language.

"I need you to give me his address. Or go with me! He doesn't know me, and I clearly don't know him. But I need to tell him this!" I pleaded. After walking in the rain for a good hour or two, I'd finally found Maud.

Apparently she'd found shelter in an alleyway that was very small. It had no roofs to speak of, but the high walls of the buildings surrounding it lessened the rain and wind at least a bit. Together with a few other people – two men, seemingly in their forties, and little Tommy- they waited for the storm to be over. One of the men tried to nap or was pretending to do so, but I saw him opening his eyes and looking at me, so he was failing. The other one was deeply asleep, but I think he had a little help from the now empty bottles of beer laying beside him. His mouth was open and he was drooling on his oversized jacket. His snores were incredibly loud.

Maud sighed. She glared at me and nodded her head towards little Tommy. The eight-year-old sat against one of the brick walls.  
"You know I can't leave him alone. At least not with them", she said, now referring to the two men. One of them was still pretending to be napping. The other one sagged to the right and was now almost laying horizontal instead of sitting.

"So I will give you the address. But make it short. Don't introduce yourself. Just say whatever you have to say to that man, take the money and leave. Usually, we don't visit his home, but I reckon he isn't out on the streets right now."  
I perked up at the sound of money. I hadn't expected to be rewarded for this. I wondered how much the man in the nice coat with the expensive mobile phone was going to pay. Then Maud spoke again.

"His name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221B Bakerstreet."

* * *

Three golden numbers and a doorknocker –which was hanging askew- marked the door I was standing in front of. Meanwhile, the rain had stopped mostly, but eyeing the sky, I knew it wouldn't be long before it would start again. Wasting no time, I reached for the bell and rang it curtly. I was standing very close to the door, but the wind in the middle of the street was very cold and as I was soaked it felt like it cut right through me.

Noticing all feeling was leaving my fingers, I wanted to ring again before I wasn't able to anymore. But right before I raised my hand, the door opened.  
"Hello –oh." The cheery looking old woman who had opened the door froze when seeing me. Can't blame her, really. I suppose you have that effect on people when you're homeless, starved, soaked wet and freezing.  
The lady looked unsure of what to do, and even a little scared. So I quickly decided to speak and explain.

"Hello Miss, I am looking for a man named-"  
"Sherlock Holmes. Where is he?" A deep voice interrupted me. My head shot up and towering behind the lady stood the man I was looking for. This time, his dark curls were completely dry, if not a bit dishevelled. He was wearing a tight fitting suit, which made him very tall and skinny. His blue – _or green?-_ eyes pierced through me.  
"Excuse me?" I stammered. The man –or Sherlock Holmes, as I'd recently learned, rolled his eyes.  
"You were looking for me. You have found me. Now tell me where that man is." He demanded. I swallowed.  
"He is in an abandoned building near St. Bart's hospital. It's about thirty metres from the skate park. It is accessible via a broken window. I wanted to sleep but I hid behind a bookcase when he walked into the room."  
I honestly did not know why I added that last bit but he didn't seem to care. The man turned around and yelled: "John! Bring my coat! I know where he is!" He then grabbed something from behind the door, then wrapped a beautiful blue scarf around his neck. Right after that, a somewhat short man walked down the stairs, carrying one coat while attempting to put on another.  
Sherlock Holmes took the long coat from him, the one I remember seeing him in the first time we met.

"How do you suddenly know where-" Then the man saw me. His blue eyes, that seemed kind, widened in understanding and the man nodded.  
"Ah, your homeless network." He said. _Homeless network? Was I part of that now? I am homeless, yes, but what about that network?_  
However, I had no time to ask those questions out loud, because Sherlock Holmes pushed past me and the shorter man rushed after him. I was left standing there, gaping, together with the old lady.


	4. Chapter 4 - Freezing

It was cold. _So_ cold. While autumn was just inconvenient and unpleasant, winter was downright dangerous. As a homeless, you couldn't wander through the city and its parks and sit on benches while enjoying watching people and their busy lives. You had to find money, food and warmth continuously. Otherwise, you might freeze or starve to death.

This year, winter was particularly harsh. That, together with being a bit too late with preparing for the upcoming cold, had caused the situation I was now in.  
I was sitting against an empty building. Its bricks were prodding my back, but as I'd lost feeling quite a while ago, it didn't bother me. The only thing that really bothered me, was the nagging thought that I had to find money and buy something warm to drink.  
I didn't move though, I was much too tired for that. Sitting here was okay. I was covered in a thin layer of snow and propped up in the shadows of an unused building. Nobody would shoo me for being in their way. _I will just keep sitting here, maybe sleep a little bit... Yes, getting some sleep sounded great._

I'd just closed my eyes – _or had I been napping for a while? Can't remember_...- when loud noises interrupted the quiet of a deserted street and falling snow. My eyes flew open and I lifted my head, which had been hanging forward. At both ends of the street, police cars raced towards me. Their sirens were much too loud for me and I frowned when realizing I could hardly take a nap with this tumult going on right in front of me.

The cars stopped at the café on the other side of the street with screeching brakes. Immediately, the policemen jumped out of their cars and formed two rows in front of the shadowy building while aiming their guns at the door. Then two other men stepped out of a car. They were the only ones not wearing a uniform. One had a long, dark coat, the other had grey hair and was shouting orders. Unfortunately, my vision was too hazy to see more of them. My thoughts were hazy as well. _Maybe I should try to nap regardless of the noises..._ I let my head rest against the stones behind me and closed my eyes.

"Falling asleep here is something I'd definitely not recommend. A bit too icy, don't you think?"  
The baritone voice startled me from the slumber I'd fallen into. I opened my eyes and after blinking a few times, my vision cleared. A man stood in front of me. His dark curls and coat made a sharp contrast against his pale skin and blue – _or green?_ \- eyes. Something in me told me I should recognize this man, that I'd seen him before. But my mind was too vague to work it out.  
In his hands, that were clothed in black leather gloves, he held a steaming Styrofoam cup. I wanted to give him a snide comment on how unfair and rude he was being and to leave me the hell alone, but found that I couldn't open my mouth. It was either the cold or exhaustion, but to be honest, I didn't really care. All I wanted was to be left alone to sleep. Maybe when I woke up, I'd be warmer. Or maybe I'd die here. Whatever. The realization hit me that I truly didn't care about anything anymore – I was just _so tired_ and the thought of fighting to survive just did not appeal to me anymore.

So I shot the man a dark look, and closed my eyes again. Surely if I ignored him, he would go away. However, I didn't hear the typical cracking footsteps in snow, meaning the man was still here. I continued to ignore him and actually got sleepy. On the verge of falling in a deep slumber once again, suddenly, I felt his presence incredibly close to my right side.

"There's a restaurant on Northumberland street that hands out its leftovers every evening while they're still hot. Meanwhile, this should do the trick. And don't let the cold get to you like this again," he spoke quite close to my ear, and then walked away. Fucking finally. Once I heard the police cars leave, I opened my eyes.

Next to me stood a steaming Styrofoam cup, smelling like strong coffee. With a shaking arm I picked it up and held it under my face, the steam warming my skin. And with the warmth, rationality returned.

Maybe I should pay a visit to Northumberland street.

 **So, here they are. I must say that I haven't even edited these chapters since I wrote them (which is a looong time ago). However, feedback is always appreciated!**


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